Abdominal supporter.



L. N. SAEMANN.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER. APPLICATION FILED M123, 1911.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

INVENTOFL jazzramzzezizaniv NESSES COLUMIMA PLANDGRAPH CO.,WASHINGTON, D. c.

"1| STATES PATENT ormoE.

LAURA N. SAEMIANN, 0F OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER.

Application filed February 23, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAURA N. SAEMAN N, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvement in Abdominal Supporters, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, comfortable and eflicient supporter for the abdomen and one which extends well down over the hips and thighs at the back.

A further object of my invention is to produce a supporter which may easily be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of my invention and of its various objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front View of my improved supporter lying in the shape which it takes when in position upon the body of a wearer; Fig. 2 is a side view; and Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the specification and in the drawing corresponding reference characters denote corresponding parts.

In accordance with my invention I provide a band which is adapted to extend across the abdomen of the wearer, over the hips and to the back where the ends of the band are adjustably. connected together. The front of the band is composed of a panel 1 of inelastic material. The hip por tions 2 are made of any suitable soft elastic material which will be comfortable to the wearer. In the arrangement shown the front panel is made of a strip of heavy webbing folded upon a transverse line which extends obliquely to the edges. The overlapping parts are then stitched to gether along the edges as indicated at 3 and 4 so as to produce a panel somewhat wlder at the top than at the bottom.

In the supporter illustrated, I make the hip portions of separate pieces, sewing each Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Serial No. 610,169.

hip piece to one edge of the front panel, although in some aspects of my invention the panel and the hip members may be otherwise formed and connected together. By making each hip member in a separate piece, the parts may be cut in such shapes that the hip portions will naturally incline downwardly from the front toward the rear when worn, coming low down on the hips and thighs without puckering or wrinkling. One of the hip pieces carries straps 5 at its rear end and the corresponding end of the other hip piece is provided with buckles 6; the straps and buckles constituting adjustable fastening means for securing the band about the body of the wearer, adjusting the pressure as a whole, and regulating the degree of pressure at various points extending across the width of the band. It will of course be understood that the straps and buckles, while simple and reliable, "represent only one of the usual forms of adjustable fastening means which may be employed.

The hip pieces are provided with flaps which extend downwardly over the thighs and are folded back upon themselves to form elongated tubular members 7 eXtending along the lower edges of the hip por tions; the free ends of the flaps being stitched down asindicated at 8. I prefer to make the flaps integral with the hip members as this makes the supporter more comfortable than where there is a seam due to sewing the flaps on. The length of the tubular members, measured longitudinally of the band, may be varied, but by making them long they extend well back around the thighs and permit a supporting pressure to be obtained much lower down than is ordinarily the case. Straps 9 are removably arranged within the tubes and project beyond the ends thereof so as completely to encircle the thighs. These straps may be made of any suitable material but I prefer to make them in the form of inelastic bands so that they will retain their shape better when fastened about the thighs of the wearer than they would if they were of more flexible material. The ends of each of the straps may be joined in any suitable way, preferably by means of a suitable buckle as indicated at 10. I am able to make the tubular members of considerable length because of the absence of buckles on these members; it being customary in other supporters of this general type to fasten the thigh straps by means of buckles at the rear ends of the members overlying the thighs. The tubular members not only serve the purpose of holding the supporter low but they also act'as housings for the buckles so that the latter will not come in contact with the flesh or with the clothing of the wearer. To this end the straps may be buckled just outside the ends of the tubes and then slipped around until the buckles lie within the tubes; or, each of the tubes may be slit on its outer side at a point between its ends as indicated at 11, the straps being so positioned that the buckles lie within the tubes near the slits. The buckles can then be reached through the slits for adjusting them or unfastening them, without being exposed under normal conditions.

My improved supporter is of great value in cases of fractured hip or broken pelvis, because it is possible to bring to bear a distributed, regulated pressure on the hip and thus immobilize the same perfectly.

It will be seen that the thigh straps are not fastened permanently to the supporter and therefore they may be removed and washed at will without making it necessary to Wash the entire supporter whenever it seems desirable to clean the thigh straps.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and novel supporter which will lie smoothly upon the person of the wearer, which makes it possible to regulate and distribute the pressure not only across the abdomen but also over the hips and thighs, one which may readily be washed as a whole, and one which may be kept in a clean and sanitary condition without making it necessary to wash the entire supporter when the thigh straps alone require clean- 111g.

While I have illustrated and described only a single preferred form of my invention, and one combining all of the various novel features of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to a device embodying all such features in combination with each other or the particular structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An abdominal supporter comprising a band adapted to pass over the abdomen and hips of the wearer, the hip portions of the band having tubular members along their lower edges to overlie the thighs, and two independent removable thigh straps passing loosely through said tubular members.

2. An abdominal supporter comprising a band adapted to surround the body of the wearer, the band consisting of a front panel of inelastic material and hip portions of elastic material, said hip portions having long tubular members formed along their lower edges and adapted partially to encircle the thighs, and removable thigh straps passing loosely through said tubular members, said hip portions being long enough to permit each of said straps to encircle the thigh portion of one of the legs of wearer.

3. An abdominal supporter comprising a band adapted to pass over the abdomen and hips of the wearer, the hip portions of the band having members in the form of elongated tubes formed integral therewith along their lower edges, removable thigh straps passing loosely through said tubular members, and means for connecting the ends of each strap together, each of said tubular members having an opening in the outer side between the ends thereof to give access to the connecting means between the ends of the straps when the connecting means are housed within the tubular members.

4:. An abdominal supporter comprising a band adapted to surround the body of the wearerand having an inelastic front panel and elastic hip portions, the lower ends of the hip portions being formed into tubes overlying the thighs, straps of inelastic material removably arranged within said tubes and adapted to surround the thighs, and means for adjustably connecting the ends of said band together, said hip portions being long enough to permit each of said straps to encircle the thigh portion of one of the legs of a wearer.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

LAURA N. SAEMANN.

Witnesses WM. F. FREUDENREIOH, RUBY Burners.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

